Travels and thoughts

A orange tunnel that winds itself on the mountain path... Fushimi Inari Shrine ( 伏見稲荷大社) We woke up to another cold and chilly morning at Kyoto. As we were leaving for Tokyo by Shinkansen at 1735 hours, we decided to start early before breakfast for a hike up Fushimi Inari.  The chill breeze of the morning air hit us as we stepped out of the warmth of our hotel. The brisk walk to the metro line was invigorating as the limbs eased themselves. Taking the Keihan line metro southwards,  we reached our station of Fushimi Inari - a pretty station on ground level with just 2 platforms and the lively air of festive place with people and shops already thronging the morning hours. The shrine gates with its distinct vermillion hue was just a few meters from the station with helpful hands pointing the way (quicker than the google map, we discovered!) The main Shinto shrine that greets you is a typical red and gold colored shrine - it is meant to commemorat...

- 京都市 The first view of Tokyo station The metro station was an imposing building with broad pavements leading up to the South Side entrance right opposite the way to the local metro (Marunochi line). Locating the Shinkansen platform was quite easy including purchasing one-way tickets for our destination and we boarded the train at platform 14. The platforms were clearly laid out for the cars with designated entry points where the swelling crowd waited patiently in orderly queues. What caught our eye were the remarkable neatness of the station and the lack of numerous dustbins. Finally, when we did sight the bins, we were quite taken aback at the waste segregation rules The train made a grand appearance into the station smoothly easing in. As the electronic doors opened to let alighting passengers out, we entered and settled ourselves on comfortable chairs. The train journey itself was a delight smoothly whizzing past the countryside offering first views of Pacific. Citie...